Oak Ridge Wildcats put Cougars on lockdown

Monday

Dec 10, 2012 at 8:27 PMDec 10, 2012 at 8:33 PM

Down two starters, Oak Ridge still pulled off one of its best defensive efforts ever.

by Robert Holder

Down two starters, Oak Ridge still pulled off one of its best defensive efforts ever.
The Wildcats held Campbell County to just seven points in the first half -- including just one-point in the second quarter -- as they moved to 7-0, 4-0 in District 3-AAA with a 57-27 win.
"You come up here without two starters," coach Aaron Green said. "But it goes back to our depth. It really doesn't matter who is starting. Tonight was evidence of that."
With Rian Hall competing at the Toyota East-West Football Game and Kevin Steen out with an injury, the Wildcats threw a wrench into the Cougars offensive set from the opening tipoff.
Campbell County (3-6, 1-2) could not get the ball inside using screens that Oak Ridge switched off of in their man defense.
"That made them stagnant," coach Green said. "The way we covered the ball screens threw them off a little bit."
The Wildcats took advantage of the confusion early starting with a 13-0 run in the game that included a two-handed jam by Rashad Gray and forced a Campbell County timeout.
The lead continued to grow as the 'Cats shared the basketball offensively. Seven players scored more than six points for Oak Ridge. Xavier Maddox led the way with 10 points as the only one in double figures, but Cory Fagan, Demauray McClanahan and Isaac Merian had eight while Jaylin Henderson and Gray had six. Nick Bradley chipped in seven.
"I was concerned because we had some guys playing different spots but they played well," Green said. "Xavier stepped up. Demauray played really well.
"We had great balance. That's a sign of a good team."
Despite the lopsided score, Green noted it was a key win with a pair of even tougher games coming up this week.
"They aren't a bad team," said Green of Campbell County. "They lost to Fulton in the closing seconds, lost to West in overtime. Anytime you hold a team to seven points at halftime, you are doing something really well on the defensive end."
Campbell County was led by their big post shooter Gunner St. John. The rangy big man had seven points. No other Cougar scored more than four points on the night.
Oak Ridge faces Karns and Powell this week with a chance to take the outright lead in District 3-AAA. Karns won the district tournament title last year against Powell 63-40 at Oak Ridge. Tipoff for the boys game against the Beavers is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday before the 6 p.m. varsity girls game. Both games are at Karns.
Powell is currently tied with the 'Cats for the best record in the district. The two will tangle Friday at Wildcat Arena.
"If we want to be a championship team, we have got to do it everyday. We have to continue to get better and stay hungry," Green said.
Robert Holder can be contacted at (865) 220-5508.

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